Hybrids can be wizards too
by hotcrossbuns783
Summary: Ichigo receives a scholarship to Hogwarts,School for wizards and witches. Renji and Rukia, under the soutaichou's orders, tags along. As the school year goes on, Ichigo realises there is no such thing as free lunch.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: None of the characters, etc, belong to me. **

Kurosaki Ichigo, seventeen year old representative shinigami of Karakura town, thought he had seen enough bizarre entities populating the world for a lifetime. Human lifespan. Although he really didn't need to think exceptionally hard to know that he shouldn't be one to talk. He belonged to the family of the supernatural after all, one of the most curious one at that, neither dead nor alive, neither shinigami nor hollow. He was a human, shinigami and hollow all at once. These beings contradicted the other's existence, living on different planes on Earth. The orange head couldn't tell if he was lucky or horribly cursed even at this point in time.

Putting his case aside for now, Ichigo was currently and completely flabbergasted. _Wizardry? _

Being a hybrid of three kinds was seriously pushing it, even for Ichigo, who was relatively open-minded. Now, the piece of yellowish paper was stating he had wizard blood in him? God seriously needed to get a new hobby, like watching balls of Marimo grow, instead of screwing with his already screwed up life.

Ichigo contemplated, hard. It was definitely a joke. April's fool day was coming up and he had heard of word going around soul society. Renji was planning an entirely original and escape-proof hoax. This wasn't exactly Renji's style, as far as Ichigo knew, but it was a possibility he wouldn't be so quick to dismiss. The letter (Ichigo hadn't the slightest inkling as to how Renji got a hold of such paper. Soul Society didn't use parchment. Parchment was even rare on Earth, much less Japan.) was even delivered by an _owl_. There should be a limit to how obvious a supposedly-inconspicuous joke can be delivered.

Ichigo smirked. _Nice try, bastard. _He was going to shove this parchment up Renji's nose on the first of April. Stuffing the envelope roughly into his back pocket, he extended his other arm, reaching into the letter box to retrieve the morning paper. Sparing the owl, perched on top of his letter box, another glance, he gave a half-hearted snort before attempting to shoo it away.

Instead of hooting in alarm at the huge hand that swiped threateningly at him, the owl merely looked at him expectantly. Ichigo stared back.

"What? You want a cookie or something?"

Fluttering his wings, the owl settled on top of Ichigo's orange nest of hair, hooting its agreement.

… Scratch that. He was going to shove the piece of parchment up Renji's _ass._ Immediately after breakfast.

Damn owl was practically driving its talons into his skull. Ichigo grimaced. It was impossible to dislodge the brown hooting avian from his head, so the teenager took a deep breath and stalked back into the house, making sure his entire family heard his ire in his footsteps.

God, he looked like an idiot.

Ichigo twitched when he thought he heard his hollow cackling away deep in the recesses of his inner mind.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to the shinigami youth back in the land of the living, a certain accused red head was suffering a fate worse than Ichigo.<p>

If Renji wasn't so busy at war with a russet owl, which possessed an uncontainable amount of attitude, he would have been able to sit down with brown envelope in hand, drink tea while he thought about it and howl indignantly at the fact that somebody had beaten him to this year's April fool's joke.

Early in the morning, when he entered the sixth division barracks, ready to face another day of paperwork, the hellish fiend for a bird had all but flew into his face, giving him a mouthful of feathers for breakfast.

He swore and cursed at the arrogant bird who had simply hop off his face to perch on the window sill, preening.

_The nerve of that bird brain!_

Renji's short fuse burnt out and he lunged at the owl with killing intent.

All hell broke loose.

Needless to say, the sixth division enjoyed their after breakfast entertainment as their vice captain scuffled wildly with a flying animal for the rest of the morning.

* * *

><p>While her best friend was romping about in the sixth division barracks, Rukia was graced with a peaceful morning. She sipped tea with trained elegance while taking in the tranquility of a surreal sanctuary that was the garden of the proud Kuchiki household. At her side was a snowy white owl with a personality comparable to the ambience of the garden.<p>

Together, they sat quietly, basking in the warm morning sun while the chilly morning breeze gently caressed their cheeks.

The envelope, placed in front of her pot of tea, fluttered slightly on the wooden floor.

Her afternoon tea with Renji was long overdue.

* * *

><p>Kurosaki Ichigo was thrown into a state of confusion for a second time in the day.<p>

Owls.

Lots of them.

There had to be at least a few thousands.

Circling in the air, perching on roof tops, window sills or anything 'perch-able'.

To tell anyone the truth, the situation was almost laughable. (If not for the same brown owl that was still intent on clawing his brains out with his talons)

Sereitei was awfully chaotic for a place meant for the dead to rest in peace.

* * *

><p><em>A few hours ago….<em>

_After emerging victorious from his tussle with the owl, just barely avoiding having his eyes ripped out, Renji tossed the tired oversized bird into a cage his captain had so kindly provided for him. His taichou must have gotten impatient when his second-in-command failed to subdue an animal four times smaller than he was. The owl gave a feeble hoot of indignation at being so roughly manhandled. Renji ignored the nocturnal animal, preferring to turn his attention to the small fragments of paper strewn all over the floor. _

_Renji could barely just remember tugging at the envelope that was tied to the leg of the owl when the owl thrust its legs viciously forward in mid air, with full intent of clawing his eyes out. The sharp tug towards the side threw the owl out of balance and gave the fukutaicho enough time to swing Zabimaru down, accidentally ripping the envelope into shreds._

_He knelt to pick up the bits and pieces of paper. The paper was like nothing he had seen before. It was leathery and rough, like it belonged to a book of ancient times. Renji knew he wasn't good at jigsaw. He gave up trying to do a hundred and fifty piece jigsaw puzzle at Ichigo's place last summer. Whatever the paper wrote, he hoped it was nothing important. The envelope had a seal that was miraculously spared from damage. Four animals, snake, lion, badger and eagle, surrounded a 'H' in an elegant design, bringing about the coat of arms. _

_He would ask Rukia about it later. That girl belonged to a noble family after all. If she couldn't recognize the crest, no one else probably could. He stashed the purple wax seal into the pocket of his shihakusho and trashed the rest._

_Little did Renji knew, his actions would trigger a spell, bringing a catastrophe upon Sereitei later in the afternoon. _

_A wave of owls and envelopes. _

* * *

><p>After much thought, Ichigo decided he wasn't entirely convinced that Renji was guilty of setting an owl on him. The whole situation pointed all fingers to Renji but he just couldn't even begin to imagine the red hair, tattoo freak interacting with an owl.<p>

Snakes didn't have an exactly strong affinity to birds. If Renji was near one, Zabimaru's tail would probably rip it to shreds.

When he passed through the Senkaimon Gate only to see a cloud of owls, his belief in Renji's innocence wavered.

As he entered the sixth division barracks, he was greeted by owls of different shape, size and colour. (Ichigo's owl hooted contently at his companions from the top of its orange nest) Ichigo couldn't even try to describe the locations of the owls. They were _everywhere._ Ichigo's instincts that had once place faith in Renji faltered as his brain reasoned, _guilty as charged._

When Ichigo forced his way into Renji's office, he was assaulted by a wave of familiar brown envelopes, green ink scrawled elegantly to the addressee, identical to the one he had received in the morning. At that very moment, Ichigo's instincts threw aside all faiths and beliefs, agreeing wholeheartedly with his brain.

"RENJI!"

Ichigo waded through the pile of parchment blocking the entrance, holding his very own in his hand, all ready to shove it up Renji's ass. In his mind, he barely registered the neatly swept up hills of envelopes. He probably should apologise later for trampling over them. It looked like hard work.

A bundle of red hair poked out of a particularly large pile of letters. It was accompanied by a face, haggered and tired. A brief flash of relief crossed the vice-captain's face.

"Hey, great timing Ichigo! Could you help me clea-"

Abarai Renji wasn't as slow as people thought he was. However, today it took him awhile to reach a conclusion as to why Ichigo was sporting such a bad temper. He hadn't done anything to him recently after the last episode where he secretly changed the substitute shinigami's closet, replacing all clothes with those sporting teddy prints.

And then it clicked. He made the connection. From his recent brag about a new april fool joke, to the brown parchment envelope clenched tightly in Ichigo's raised fist and the owl on top of his head (Renji nearly doubled over with laughter) and finally to the piles of letters in his office.

Oh shit. He was screwed. Zabimaru was still stuck under a mountain of paper and he didn't know which pile.

"W-wait I-ichigo! I can explain! You're mistaken. I swear to you it wasn't me." Renji raised his hands in surrender.

Ichigo showed no inclination that he heard Renji and continued to march forward, anger evident on his face. His strong arm reached past his shoulder and gripped the hilt of Zangetsu.

"C'mon! I've been with you through thick and thin. The least you could do is to trust me on this one, please!"

Ichigo halted but the scowl on his face merely deepened. It was clear that he demanded an explanation. Or at least the fukutaichou's plea for innocence.

Renji breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe, _for now_.

"I know I said this year's april's fool joke was going to be spectacular but you know me. It's not my style and Zabimaru hardly agrees with any avian species. Blasted things just appeared suddenly at noon, carrying this wave of envelope into my office."

The scowl on the teenager visibly lessened. Sensing Ichigo's wavering intention to kill, Renji continued to reason, in hopes he would appease the boy.

"Writing is not even my thing. Paperwork bores me. I'd do something more exciting, like switch someone's wardrobe. You know, replace everything with cartoon prin-"

Sometimes, Renji hates how he doesn't think before his speaks. Like now. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Ichigo's lips pulled back into a snarl and lunged at Renji, blade fully released from its white bindings.

Soul society's sixth division vice captain could only dive into another pile of envelope, praying Zabimaru laid at the very bottom.

* * *

><p>In less than an hour, Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the sixth division, decided it was time to put a seal on Renji's reiastu, to limit the damages done to his headquarters. If this kept up, the sixth division would have to negotiate for a larger budget next year.<p>

* * *

><p>Rukia's hand froze when she heard sounds of the ruckus emitting from the direction of her nii-sama's barracks. She quietly watched the occasional slash of black light outlined with red as it took to the sky, scattering the cloud of frightened owls. <em>Getsuga Tenshou.<em>

She smiled. It looked like Kurosaki had come to Sereitei.

Tomorrow, she would have her afternoon tea with Renji and Ichigo, in the fourth division health ward.

Casting another glance at the seemingly innocent parchment envelope, Rukia sighed. The contents of the letter had left her puzzled and worried. She would have to discuss this together with the two brawling idiots.

When another resounding explosion shook the air, Rukia silently shook her head before returning to her paperwork. From the bottom of her heart, Rukia prayed Renji's annual salary was enough to cover the damages or his life was sure to be forfeited. Nii-sama would make sure of it.

* * *

><p>I have a feeling Renji was extremely OOC. I'll try to figure out what's wrong soon. Please help me out too. If you think that there's something wrong about the others, feel free to point it out.<p>

I'm probably going to set this story in HP's third year.

Thanks for reading.

God speed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one**

Renji spat his tea out. Ichigo spluttered from the sudden spray of green tea and raised his middle finger viciously at the offender. Before the seventeen year old shinigami could start to spew vulgarities, Renji cut him off.

"What do you mean it's not a hoax? C'mon Rukia. Have the past decades screwed up your brain or something? I've never once performed a single soul burial on wizards or witches' souls in my entire shinigami career and now you expect me to believe in hocus pocus?"

Ichigo gratefully accepted a handkerchief from Rukia with his less damaged arm. As he wiped the tea off his face, Ichigo snorted. "That's probably because you're drowned in paperwork ever since you became vice-captain. I could probably count the number of soul burials you've done with my fingers and toes."

Renji looked ready to snap but he was silenced by Rukia's disapproving glare. He settled with mouthing _asshole _in which Ichigo returned the favour with a silent _bastard._

In the next moment, both male shinigamis present in the health ward howled when Rukia mercilessly punched their bandaged, sling-up legs. Several fourth division members popped their heads into the room in concern. Rukia smiled sweetly, lightly assuring them that there was nothing wrong, sending them off on their way to complete their rounds.

Turning around, she put forth a vicious glare that caused both of the howling shinigamis to cringe.

"If you had been paying attention during class back in the Shinigami academy, Renji, you would have remembered that souls with magical properties don't fall under our jurisdiction."

Ichigo looked genuinely surprised. "Isn't soul society supposed to house all souls? That was how you explained it to me the first time we met."

Rukia scratched her head. "Um… I may have left out minor details that one time… Anyway, that isn't important now. According to reports left behind by former captains in the twelfth division, the magical energy is comparable to our reiastu but they repel each other. Kind of like when you place two same sides of magnets together. Souls that harbor magical energy are not drawn towards Soul Society due to all the reiastu particles present here. The captains weren't very sure where their souls go to. There were many hypotheses. The two main ones are that there is another plane similar to Soul Society but is built and maintained by magical particles or that the souls bypass the living-a-second-life stage and proceed directly to the reincarnation process."

"Wait, hold up." The sudden stream of information was overwhelming Ichigo. "Assuming all that magic crap really exists, how could I have received a scholarship to a magic school when I obviously never applied for one? In fact, how the heck am I even suppose to perform magic? Even if I could, I should be falling apart by now because the magic particles in me can't coexist with the reiastu particles. This whole thing just doesn't add up."

Renji nodded in agreement while Rukia frowned. Sighing, Rukia pointed out. "Ichigo, you're human, shinigami and hollow all at once. One more doesn't actually really make a difference at this point in time. You have a body that seems to be able to integrate everything.'

Rukia grinned, "In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if you sprouted a pink set of fairy wings now."

Ichigo scowled darkly, "If I weren't that badly injured, I'd definitely have you confined to the bed next to mine now."

Renji howled with laughter despite the sharp pain in his ribs caused by his exertions. "Oy Ichi, I didn't know you were into kinks. Hahah- Omph."

The reactions were simultaneous. At the same time Rukia landed a blow to Renji's stomach, Ichigo flung a pillow at his face.

"Shit, damn it Rukia, I think you broke another rib. Ow ow ow…."

Smirking at her accomplishment, Rukia stood up. "Now, be nice to each other. I need to attend a tea ceremony together with nii-sama tonight. I'll see you both at the Gotei 13 meeting tomorrow."

As Rukia made her way to the door, Renji shouted in confusion, "What meeting? Oi, Rukia!"

Already past the door, Rukia shouted back, voice echoing along the hallway, "We're discussing our trip to Hocus Pocus School as bodyguards with the captains. Ichigo, you're expected to attend. Don't even think of escaping. Soutaichou wants to discuss that scholarship of yours."

"Wait! Rukia! What bodyguard duty? Hey, come back here!"  
>"What the hell? Why should I discuss this bullshit with the old man? Get your ass back here Rukia!"<p>

The joined chorus of yells had Rukia shaking her head, giggling as she headed back to the Kuchiki household. Things were bound to be interesting tomorrow.

* * *

><p>The mood was tense and stifling. Ichigo scowled darkly at Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Head captain of SoulSociety's Gotei 13, with his sword pointing menacingly at the Head captain's authoritative form. Renji shifted uncomfortably while Rukia observed the scene worriedly. The rest of the division captains tensed, hands resting on the hilt of their swords, ready to draw them should Ichigo attacked.<p>

Silence.

The first to break the silence was Ichigo. He huffed with ire and lowered his sword. Sheathing it back into its cloth wrappings, he spat out, "I'm not going."

Genryusai Yamamoto's domineering voice rumbled in the meeting hall, "It's an order."

"To hell with you and your orders. You know very damn well I do not bow down to anyone. I do not fall under your jurisdiction. Your authority and rank means nothing to me." Ichigo hissed through his clenched teeth.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. Your rudeness is intolerable. Apologise immediately!" Soi-Fon's reaction was immediate, reprimanding Ichigo's apparent lack of respect harshly.

Ichigo only glared at her icily in response.

"Why you littl-" Yamamoto raised a hand, effectively silencing Soi-Fon's outburst.

The Head-Captain turned his attention to the fuming teenager. "You do not have a choice, Kurosaki Ichigo. The wizarding world is in chaos, and it is slowly affecting our world. The hollows are restless, substitute shinigami. They are gathering, attacking the wizarding world for an unexplained reason. Reiastu and Magic cannot coexist under normal circumstances. Souls that are killed by magic will absorb some of the magic particles and the rejection will occur, leaving the souls to disappear into nothingness. It is upsetting the balance of things."

Ichigo snorted, "Then send your underlings to fight. You have many at your disposal. This has nothing to do with me. Aizen is targeting Karakura town. Protecting my home is my priority."

Shaking his head, Yamamoto elaborated, "Aizen is also plotting to bring Soul Society down. Chances cannot be taken, Kurosaki Ichigo. It is unwise to split my forces and leave Soul Society helpless in front of open jaws. The wizards can hold their own against the other rebelling dark wizards, all they need is someone who can defend an important somebody against hollows without killing their actual souls."

"What about my home? Do you actually expect me to abandon my family and friends to their fates which Aizen practically already controls?" demanded Ichigo, raging in disbelief.

"Aizen will leave your town alone till winter. You still have time. We cannot send anybody but you, who can co-exist with magic, judging by the scholarship you were offered. Shinigamis, who materialize with reiastu, will be denied entry into the wizarding world."

"What about them?" Ichigo jerked his thumb towards Renji and Rukia. "You're sending them there as bodyguards even though they can't enter? Nice lie you're coming up with, old man."

"Urahara said he will take care of that problem." The Head-Captain's immediate reply made Ichigo raise an eyebrow.

"…" Yamamoto sighed. "It cannot be helped. Central 46 have approved of exile Urahara Kisuke's involvement in this. It seems he had experience dealing with those who delve into sorcery and witchcraft."

Ichigo tore at his hair in frustration. He gave one last feeble attempt to escape from his fate. "I can't even do magi-"

"Please, Kurosaki Ichigo. Soul Society is asking for a favour." The stress was apparent on the Head-Captain's face, brows knitted into a weary frown.

"Wha-"  
>"Genryusai-sensei! This is unacceptable!"<br>"Soul Society's pride will not be sulli-"  
>"-mere substitute Shinigami-"<p>

The uproar in the meeting hall was instant, displeasure at the Head-Captain's polite request was apparent. They were all silenced by Yamamoto's roar. "SILENCE!"

Returning to his normal volume, Yamamoto asked firmly, "Your answer, Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Ichigo gripped at his nose bridge tiredly. There was really no choice left. _Conniving old bastard._ To reject when the Head-Captain was practically begging was foolish. Soul Society's wrath would come crushing down on him and he would be the one disappearing into nothingness.

Ichigo grinded out gruffly, "Fine! It's not like I was given an option. If anything happens to my family while I'm gone, it's not Aizen you will have to face. It'll be my wrath you will have to appease!"

"You have Soul Society's thanks, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm leaving this godforsaken place."

Ichigo turned and left the hall without a backward glance, heavy footsteps indicating his frustration.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the hall after Ichigo's abrupt departure.

Kuchiki Byakuya spoke for the first time, smoothly initiating a topic for discussion.

"Exactly who are they suppose to guard?" Byakuya gave a pointed look at his vice-captain and sister-in-law.

With that, the members of the hall lapse into a comfortable discussion that would take up the remaining morning.

* * *

><p>"Ichigo! You're late for dinner! Punishmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeent- oomph!"<p>

Ichigo's feet planted itself deeply into his father's face. "Shut it Goat-face."

Taking off his shoes, he shouted down the hallway, "Yuzu! I'm not eating. Just start without me."

"Ahhhhh. My dear Misaki! Our beloved son has started to rebel. Ichigo's not eating with his family anymore..." Kurosaki Isshin spontaneously burst into tears while hugging the poster of his late wife.

"Keep it down! Stupid old man." Kurosaki Karin smacked her father's head smartly before calling out to Ichigo who was moodily ascending the stairs. "What's up your ass, Ichigo?"

"Nothing. Stuff happened," came Ichigo's muffled mumble.

Kurosaki Yuzu stared after her brother's retreating figure worriedly. "S-should I keep some food for nii-chan?"

"Ahhhhhhh… Misak-" Karin punched the whining man before pulling him to the dining table. "Just let him starve."

On the second floor, Ichigo closed his door and leaned heavily against it. With a tired sigh, he slid onto the floor and clutched his orange spikes.

"Magic huh. What makes the whole lot of them think I can do it?" Ichigo muttered to himself softly.

"Because magic cannot make mistakes, Kurosaki Ichigo." The amused reply out of nowhere had Ichigo jump into a guarded stance. He narrowed his eyes when he saw no one in his room.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?"

An amused chuckle filled his dark room.

"Stop hiding or I'll punch the living daylights out of you when I find you," warned Ichigo, fists clenching.

Ichigo's threat appeared to humour the stranger and he replied light-heartedly. "Turn on the lights and you'll see me, boy."

The wary teenager flipped the lights on and he was met with a thin, tall and very old smiling man with silver hair and beard, clad in long robes and a purple cloak reached the floor. Blue eyes twinkled behind half-moon spectacles.

Ichigo scowled, instinctually crouching slightly in defense at the strangely dressed man.

The stranger took the hint to introduce himself. "I must apologise for my rudeness. Barging into someone else's room without permission is simply unbecoming but I didn't want to interrupt dinner downstairs." The old man coughed slightly to clear his throat and continued on, "Pleasure to meet you Kurosaki Ichigo, I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Ichigo blinked in recognition. Slowly stepping out of his defensive form, he commented. "You're the head of that school that sent me that scholarship."

"Yes. Indeed I am."

"What do you mean magic cannot make mistakes?"

"I meant exactly what I said. A spell, that was cast long ago when Hogwarts was founded, will identify all children with magic capabilities and an owl would be sent to deliver the enrolment letter. Although you were listed down in our records, the owl never reached you when you were eleven because Karakura Town's high reiastu levels hid your presence. You are aware that magic and reiastu cannot mix, am I correct?"

Ichigo merely nodded.

"We were only made aware of your location when you were brought up in the discussion between your Head-Captain and I. You were a candidate among several others."

"Candidate?" Ichigo didn't like where this was going.

"A bodyguard, Ichigo. We needed someone to protect Harry from… ah, Hollows, as you call them."

Ichigo twitched. _So the geezer was offering his services without his consent, was he? Blasted old man! _

Dumbledore, oblivious to Ichigo's reaction, continued on. "However, it came to me that you were the child our owl could not find and I immediately took the opportunity to offer to give you a place in Hogwarts. You interest me Ichigo. No one has ever been able to manipulate both reiastu and magic. Imagine the surprise when I discovered you were a shinigami. It would be magnificent to see just what you can do. The scholarship was just an incentive."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "So basically this was a conspiracy. You and the old geezer meet up, suddenly decide that I should go to a magic school and protect somebody I don't even know. Then I get practically forced into this thing by that old nut. My opinions don't matter now, does it?"

Before Dumbledore could reply, a female voice cut in.

"Hey Ichigo! The Head-Captain told me to inform you we're leaving … tomorrow…" Rukia hesitated when she noticed Dumbledore. "Um… Ichigo? Who's that?"

"Albus Dumbledore. Headmaster of Hogwarts." Ichigo's clipped reply did not go unnoticed.

Rukia stared accusingly at the thin, old man, shifting to stand in front of Ichigo. "What did he do, Ichigo?"

Dumbledore took that as his cue to leave. "I see I'm no longer welcomed. I'll be awaiting your arrival in September. Have a pleasant night Kurosaki Ichigo." With a wave of his wand, the thin, old man vanished.

"Nothing. Just leave him alone. What do you want?"

"Oh. Departure is scheduled at twelve o'clock. Urahara told us to meet up at his shop. We're going to get your supplies. Umm…"

"Spit it out Rukia."

"It's okay. It can wait. I'll tell you more tomorrow. Take this night to cool your head Ichigo. I'm sorry that things turned out this way but think positively. If you're lucky, magic may totally kick Aizen's ass."

Ichigo snorted and visibly relaxed. He waved Rukia a goodbye before collapsing into his bed, face down into his pillow.

Rukia chuckled and slid out of Ichigo's window, _shunpo-ing_ lightly into the serene night.

* * *

><p>Another chapter done. Phew. Hope nobody's too OOC. Is Ichigo too moody?<p>

To readers and reviewers:

Thanks for reading.

God speed.


End file.
